Safety-heel for footwear.



No.v 720,440:

no mmm..

SAEBTY HEEL FOR FOOTWEAR.

lvAIPLIOATION IILBD 00T. 12, 1901.

/N VENTO/f uw. cmg pangea, vac-wwwa. wAsm UNTTnp STATES Tinos.

ATENT SAI-ETY-d-nisa. FOR FOOTWEAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 720,440, dated February10, 1903. Application filed October 12, *1901. Serial No. '78,451- (Nomodel.)

To (ir/ZZ whom it may concern:

resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedSafetylHeel for Footwear, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

The invention relates to heels having rubber treads; and its object isto provide a new and improved heel for footwear to prevent the user fromslipping on wet, smooth, or icy surfaces and to allow the user toconveniently and quickly adjust the tread in case one side thereof isWorn more-than theoiher, the arrangement' alsol permitting easy removalof a worn-out tread and substitution of a new one.

The invention consists of novel features and parts andV combinations ofthe same, as will be fully described hereinafter, and then pointed outin the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specitication, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the improvement asapplied. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is atransverse section ofthe s ame on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, the treadlbeing omitted. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the corner-protector, andFig. 5 is'a like view of a modifie form of the same.

A heel-body A, of leather or similar material, is secured to a shoe,boot, or like footwear in the usual manner, and the said heelbody hasits bottom at the rear end cut ont to form a circular recess for thereception of a turnable and removable tread B, preferably of ring shapeand made of rubber or other elastic material. In order to hold the treadB in position on the heel-body A, the following device is provided: Anut C, having an annular iiange C', is let into the bottom of theheel-body at the center of the cut-out portion, and the said nut issecured by snitable screws D to the heel-body, the screws passingthrough the flange C into the body material. (See Fig. l.) Into the nutO screws the threaded shank E of a screw hav- Be it known that I, HENRYC. Kaarten- STEIN, a citizen of the UnitedV States, and a ing a head E',preferably made circular in shape, the said shank E passing through anaperture B in the center of the tread B, and the said head E extendinginto a bore B2, concentric with the aperture or bore B. The iiange E ofthe screw rests on the shoulder formed between the bores B and'B2, andthe under side of the head E is a distance from the under side of thetread B, so as to form with the said head asuction-cup to cause theunder surface of the tread B to firmly adhere to a wetor slipperysurface. In the head E' are formed recesses E2, adapted to be engaged bya wrench or other suitable tool to permit the user to readily screw thescrew into the nut O or outof the same. When it is desired to fasten thetread B in place in the cutout portion of the heel-body A, the screw Eis inserted in the bores of the tread, and then the latter is placed inposition in the cut-out Vportion and the screwis screwed up, so that theshank E screws in the nut C. In case one side of the tread B is wornmore than the rest of the tread, the operator simply loosens the screwby applying a wrench in the recesses E2 and then turns the tread B tobring the worn-out portion to the otherkside and to bring the less-wornportion to that side of the shoe or boot worn most by the wearer. Whenthe desired adjustment has been made, the screw is again screwed Vup tosecurely hold the tread B in place. When the tread is completely wornout, the operator nnscrews the screw completely from the nut C andremoves it from the Worn-out tread and applies it to a newtread, whichis then secured in position on the heel-body A, as above described.

In order to protect the corners of the heelbody A at the cut-outportion, I provide suitable metallic protectors F, each formed with asegmental portion F', fitting between the body A and the innerperipheral edge of the tread B, as plainly shown in Figs. l and 2. Thesegmental portion F terminates at its outer end in a iiange F2,'engaging the face of the heel-body A, so asto protect the corner portionof the heel-body at the cut-out portion. In order to securely hold theprotectors F in place, I provide the same with iianges F3, adapted to bedriven into the heelbody material, (see Fig. 2,) the said iianges ICO F3having a projecting portion to permit of securing the same to the bottomof the heelbody A at the cut-out portion. (See Fig. A similartackirg-Ilange F4 is formed at the inner edge of the segmental portionF', and a projecting 11g F5 is formed on the inner end of the segmentalportion F to be driven into the material of .he heel-body A. (See Fig.2.) Two segmental portions F of the two corner-protectors preferablymeet at the center of the shoulder formed by the cut-ont portion of theheel-body, as plainly indicated in Fig. 2, thereby lying close to thatperipheral part of the tread B extending on the inside of the heel-body.(See Fig. 2.)

The corner-protectors F mentioned may be dilerently constructed-forinstance, in the shape of an angle-iron F6, as indicated in Fig. 5, onepart of the flange being driven into the material of the heel-body andthe other engaging the outer face of the corner.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A heelcomprising a heel-body having a circular cut-ont portion at its bottom,segmental metallic protectors applied to the corners of said heel-bodyand having the projecting spurs embedded in the heel-body and theend-protecting flanges arranged to overlap the sides of the saidheel-body, and a tread removably secured to the heel-body and fittingthe segmental portions of the said corner-protectors.

2. A heel, comprising a heel-body having a circular cut-out portion atits bottom, an annular tread tting the cut-out portion and secured tothesaid heel-body, and corner-protectors for the corners of the heel-bodyat the cnt-ont portion, the'protectors having segmental portions ttingthe segmental Wall and ont-out portion, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speciication in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HENRY C. KARFENSTEIN.

Witnesses:

JNO. M. RITTER, THEO. G. I-Ios'rER.

